HR 9436: Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026

HR 9436 in plain English: This bill extends by seven years—from 2028 to 2035—the deadline for the National Marine Fisheries Service to issue new regulations protecting endangered Atlantic large whales from entanglement in lobster and crab fishing gear. The regulations, when issued, must still require the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries to adopt existing and innovative gear technologies to reduce whale entanglement risk.

Stated purpose

This bill extends the deadline for federal fisheries regulators to finalize new rules protecting endangered Atlantic large whales from lobster and crab fishing gear, pushing that deadline from 2028 to 2035.

Key points

• Pushes the federal deadline for new whale-protection fishing regulations from 2028 to 2035
• Applies to the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries
• New rules must still require use of gear technologies that reduce whale entanglement risk

Arguments supporters make

• Lobster and crab fishermen need more time to find and afford new gear technologies that actually work, and rushing the deadline could drive small fishing businesses out of operation.
• The existing regulations already provide some whale protections, and a longer timeline allows for better science and more effective solutions rather than rushed rules.
• Fishing communities in the Northeast depend on lobstering for their livelihoods, and this extension gives them a fair chance to adapt without sudden economic harm.

Arguments opponents make

• The North Atlantic right whale is critically endangered with very few individuals remaining, and delaying stronger protections for seven more years could push the species closer to extinction.
• Entanglement in fishing gear is already identified as a leading threat to these whales, so postponing new safety rules means more years of preventable harm to the animals.
• Regulators and scientists have had years to study this problem, and another extension may simply delay action indefinitely rather than produce better outcomes for either fishermen or whales.

Tradeoffs

Giving the fishing industry more time to adapt may protect jobs and livelihoods in the short term, but it also means a critically endangered whale species goes without stronger gear protections for seven additional years.

Current status in Congress: Passed House.

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